Neso lists security demands

Shillong, Feb. 21: The North East Students’ Organisation (Neso) has demanded the inclusion of the Northeast — its geography, people, culture and ethos — in the syllabus of all state boards and central boards, including the CBSE, and insisted upon the implementation of an anti-racism act.

A delegation of the organisation, led by its chairman Samuel B. Jyrwa, met Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde in New Delhi yesterday and submitted a memorandum in this regard.

The meeting with Shinde came after the January 29 incident in which a student from Arunachal Pradesh, Nido Tania, was killed.

“These incidents of assault and molestation are happening frequently, resulting in a feeling of insecurity. This has been amplified by the assault on two women belonging to the Tangkhul Naga community, rape of one minor girl from Manipur at Munirka and physical assault of two Manipur boys. All these incidents happened just a few days after the murder of the boy from Arunachal,” the memorandum said.

Neso said the government at different levels has vehemently denounced such incidents.

However, the northeastern communities continue to suffer “shock and panic” as a result of the unabated attacks and assault.

Though the PMO said on November 15, 2009, that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had directed the authorities concerned to take stern action against the culprits and to take special measures for the security of the northeastern students, crimes against the students from the region have continued, the organisation said.

Therefore, it sought the urgent intervention of the Union home minister for effective measures to ensure mental, social and physical security to the students and people of the Northeast studying and residing in Delhi and other parts of India.

At the same time, the organisation demanded measures to prevent any further attacks or abuse of people from the Northeast.

The organisation demanded “capital punishment” for the perpetrators of the heinous crime, referring to Tania’s death, at the earliest.

It also wanted stringent action against the police for its failure to register the case.

It also demanded the establishment of a special police station to deal with cases related to racial discrimination and atrocities on people from the Northeast, with a provision that it is manned by police officers from northeastern states.

Of the thousands of policemen recruited for Delhi police, the Centre should recruit at least 5,000 from the eight states of the Northeast.

Jyrwa said Shinde listed the various steps that his ministry had taken for the security of the students and the people hailing from this region, while assuring the organisation that its demands would be looked into.